Presently there are many situations where it is necessary to pattern substrates that may be 10 to 12 inches wide. With existing lenses a substrate of that width can only be patterned using a multiplicity of scans. To perform such a task with conventional lenses is difficult and slow since in order to do so multiple scans are required using an accurate stage with two dimensional motion capability.
In some copy machines an array of graded index fibers have been used to image a long thin area. However, in precision lithographic applications performing imagery in this way is hopelessly crude and not viable.
Arrays of tiny lenses that are fabricated as binary optic lenses could be used for this application, but this approach is also impractical in precision applications since these lenses must be very small to limit aberrations thus creating fabrication difficulties that are acute. Additionally, binary optics tend to produce a lot of stray light that also is undesirable in a high resolution optical system.
What is needed is an optical system that combines high resolution and a very large contiguous field size without the lens system being extremely large. The Wynne Dyson array of the present invention provides such a lens system with all of those capabilities without being overly large.